Lake Forest Council Approves 3-Unit Condo Building On Oakwood Avenue

LAKE FOREST, IL — Lake Forest City Council approved plans to redevelop the southeast corner of Westminster and Oakwood Avenue into a two-story, three-unit condominium building.

The project covers a roughly 0.25-acre site that now includes the former Marweedy farmhouse and a small-scale office. Under the approved plan, the city will remove the existing farmhouse and replace it with a condominium building totaling about 10,800 square feet. Parking and trash and recycling storage will be in an underground garage with access from the south side of the property.

The proposal had unanimous recommendations from both the Plan Commission and the Building Review Board before going to the council.

City officials said the building was designed to fit the surrounding area. The plans call for materials including red brick and stucco.

“I think it’s a great project. It looks beautiful. I can only hope that we, as a community, have a chance to approve more of these,” Director of Public Works Tom Powers said.

During the meeting, aldermen asked about the size of the units, bedroom counts and whether the project would trigger affordable housing requirements. Catherine Czerniak, director of community development, said no affordable housing contribution is required because the development includes fewer than five units. She also said interior layouts remain subject to final design changes as long as they stay within the approved square footage.

The approval moves forward a smaller-scale residential project at a prominent local corner while setting conditions that will come later in the permit process. So far, there is no timeline for a construction start date or completion.